July 10th: The unavoidable grimness of the Mars Saturn conjunction:

With my Jovial (Jupiter) nature ideally I would always like to present this blog with positive, inspiring and uplifting astrological news and views, but on July 10th collectively we experienced the Mars Saturn conjunction in Virgo, which I foresaw would be a testing and torrid day. So it was without surprise that I read the UK papers and spotted 3 headlines that correlated with this traditionally most difficult union of the two malefic planets:

1. Increases in stabbing: In the space of 24 hours on Thursday 10th there were 6 fatal knife attacks in the UK. This is the peak to a 2008 knife crime epidemic, as there already have been 18 deaths of teenagers in Britain in the first six months alone. Mars is the ruler of metal weapons and knives and Saturn is the lawmaker and authority. The result to this crisis has been a slow (Saturn) response from the government who have now proposed a ‘no tolerance’ law for knife carriers and far stricter jail sentences. The Mars Saturn conjunction highlights the blight in UK society at the moment and there maybe more tragedy and suffering before the wrongs are righted.

2. Iran tests missiles Iran spent the 9th and 10th July testing new missiles with ‘special capabilities’ over the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel of sea between Iran and the United Arab Emirates that carries 40% of the world’s oil shipping. These special capabilities actually mean that Iran now has missiles that can reach Israel.

Saturn Mars together invariably brings a show of militaristic strength and a serious foreboding threat; when asked Iran simply stated that they are preparing themselves for an ‘inevitable’ attack from Israel. Looking at a map of the area between Iran and United Arab Emirates I noticed the proximity of Dubai (the futuristic international playground that has appeared out the desert in the last 15 years) faces into the Straits of Hormuz, a vitally strategic waterway between the Arab states and Iran.
Without predicting anything now I feel that Dubai maybe exceptionally vulnerable to any flare up in that area, particularly in international relations, the oil industry and the holy wars. Watch this space.

3.The Bear market: The forthcoming Saturn Jupiter trine on September 8th might well bring a financial market disaster similar to 1929’s Wall Street crash (more on this later), so with Mars entering Virgo and conjuncting Saturn on the 10th July I felt there would be significant tremors in the financial markets. The FTSE 100 tumbled 145.2 points to a 3 year low of 5261, wiping £30 billion off the value of leading shares. Oil also jumped to a new record high of $147 a barrel. Furthermore the US government’s sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took a large tumble in their share price on the 10th leaving analysts wondering whether they will soon collapse under the sub-prime mortgage crisis. All in all a serious situation that sets the planetary portents for a complete collapse in September. Stay tuned for predictions.

Overview Mars and Saturn make a conjunction approximately every 18 months and as Mars is the god of war and assertive conquest and Saturn tends to bring us the most serious and responsible issues of life (the gravity of a situation) and presents us with a stark view of reality, then when they conjoin on a mundane level we experience the reality of violence and the seriousness of war threats. The conjunction occurred in the practical earth sign of Virgo which is associated with work and daily scheduling and likes to be analytical. This Saturn and Mars aspect has left the markets reeling and analysts wondering how long the financial bubble will hold. The next tumble (possibly the biggest of all) will happen between the 3^rd and 9^th September with a planetary focus on the 8^th with the exact Saturn trine Jupiter.

Building up to September there might be another tremor when Mars in Virgo opposes Uranus in Pisces on the 6^th August and after September further crisis can be expected when Saturn opposes Uranus in November 4^th.

7th July 2008: Nicole Kidman gives birth to a daughter, Sunday Rose.

Congratulations to Nicole and Keith on the birth of their first daughter in Nashville, Tennessee early on Monday morning!

A brief look at Sunday Rose’s chart (see chart below) shows she is a sensitive and emotional Cancer sun sign, with the loving and sociable Venus conjunct the Sun, indicating that she will be a naturally charming child. Added to this is the lucky and fortunate planet Jupiter, opposing the sun and Venus in Capricorn. This configuration will indicate she is likely to have a great social life and many connections she can use as she grows up. It also shows she will be very conscious and aware of her emotions in relationships and in matters of love. She might well find that the importance of being recognised for her feelings and emotional expression in love and relationships gets in the way of an understanding of how to develop her career.

She also has the Moon in Virgo in opposition to Uranus in Pisces, which is a central feature in the relationship to her mother. Her emotional expression might be unconventional and unusual changing with her environment. Indications with this aspect are that her early life could be unpredictable with much moving home to go with Nicole’s work. Moon Uranus aspects tend to indicate a need for freedom, either from the child to the mother, or the mother to the child. It will be important for the parents’ relationship to flourish and have both of them able to continue their creativity whilst bringing up Sunday Rose. Keith as the doting Father might find it easier to write music at home whilst Nicole continues with her world wide filming schedule that could take her away from home more.

A quick look at Keith’s chart (see below) indicates that Pluto will be transiting his Mars in Capricorn in 2009 which will give him stronger and more forceful drive and ambitions than ever before. He might well reach a peak in his career at this time, but he also needs to look out for the use of his raw energy and assertiveness. There could be an issue that makes him very angry or frustrated, leading to an obsessive or compulsive response in order to dominate a particular (work oriented) situation.

Also Saturn is transiting his Venus in Virgo in 2009, which will show him the reality of his ways of relating; he will learn lessons about how he expresses love during 2009. Being a popular country musician, we might also see him putting a lot of effort and work into developing his musical style and it changing with this transit (Venus rules music). Combined with the Pluto on his Mars, we can expect some great new music….

For more information on Nicole Kidman - check my article here